


Sanditon fix-it

by Ansku



Category: Sanditon (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fix-It, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 08:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21072227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ansku/pseuds/Ansku
Summary: An Austen work needs its happy endings





	Sanditon fix-it

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a fully fleshed out fic because I don't have the time, but a short plot bunny for what I would consider a happy ending for the series. It's divided into five sections that each follow a different person or pair. If someone wants to develop these thoughts further feel completely free, just mention what you used as an inspiration and throw me a link :)

## Eliza Campion & Sir Edward Denham

Eliza really only wants to marry Sidney because she has always fancied him but she has not been in love with him for years. In fact, she has had for a while an affair with an old, influential man because his affection opens doors for her (and might result in some inheritance few years down the road). Shortly before the wedding she goes to a doctor with stomach troubles and is informed that she is very recently pregnant. The wedding is so close she figures Sidney won’t figure it out but she doesn’t calculate in the fact that they are in Sanditon and everyone knows each other. The doctor mentions it to Sidney, thinking he is the father.

Sidney confronts Eliza about the matter in her hotel suite and doesn’t keep his voice in check enough when he yells at her that he won’t raise another man’s child as his own. He storms out without actually calling off the wedding, thinking he might still go through with it if she gets rid of the child. Only she doesn’t really want to because she thinks that her lover is even more likely to leave money for the child than herself. She doesn’t have time to figure out what to do, though, as Sir Edward heard the argument and goes to offer to marry her instead.

Eliza thinks to refuse outright because he is unkempt and clearly drunk, but he points out that he is a baronet and can give her a title, and doesn't care who she sleeps with if she doesn’t care who he sleeps with, and doesn't care if the child who will inherit his title won’t actually be his. This actually sounds like a very good deal to her and Sir Edward isn’t hard on eyes either so she agrees and informs Sidney that the marriage is off but only for him - the preparations have all been paid by her anyway as he has used his money to mitigate Tom’s debts.

The new arrangement robs Sidney of her wealth but actually causes a big influx in wedding quests to Sanditon as Lady Susan grows intrigued and decides to attend. She hasn’t been invited but small details like that have never stopped her.

Eliza and Sir Edward share their wedding night with passion and agree that they might even repeat the experience on occasion if they have nothing better to do. When she finally informs her lover about the child it doesn’t go as she planned, though. The old man had thought her infertile and isn’t happy at all that she decided to keep the bastard. He informs her he won’t be parting with a single shilling for the child although he is still willing to sample on her delights. She agrees because she really likes the benefits associating with him brings her but it makes her suspect she won’t inherit a thing from him either.

In the meanwhile Sir Edward reconnects with Clara but she calls off the tryst when she sees evidence of a sexually transmitted disease - something he got from his new wife who in turn got it from the old man. Eliza and Sir Edward get the disease treated after a big argument about the matter but eventually turn to each other for the lack of better prospects and discover that they are actually very compatible. The child turns out to be a girl and the next child in fact does belong to Sir Edward himself so the title stays in his bloodline.

Old Lady Denham approves of Sir Edward’s choice of a wife but doesn’t call off the disinheritance.

Lady Esther gets children with Lord Babington as well and reconciles enough to associate with Lady Eliza and her children even if she won’t have anything to do with Sir Edward. Lord Babington understands very well why Sir Edward wanted Esther for himself and creates an amicable relationship with the man in turn even if Sir Edward still looks down on him to start with. Lord Babington gives Sir Edward a lot of good advice along the years and increasingly he even chooses to follow it and learns to respect Lord Babington.

## Georgiana Lambe

During his engagement to Eliza Sidney meets an intelligent and respectable dark skinned man that appears to be a good prospect for Georgiana. She isn’t inclined to think favourably of anyone who is recommended by Sidney but the new man is handsome and charming and slowly wins her over.

In the course of their courtship they connect on their low opinion on Sanditon and all the Parkers (if not for Georgiana he would have cut off the association the moment Sidney and Eliza broke off their engagement) and the new man points out many flaws in how things are being run around the place and what he would do if he was running the project, not that he would ever stoop to partake in such a bad prospect with so low chances of good return of interest. There are good possibilities for a small return of interest but why bother with such small rewards for such a dreary place with so many annoying people?

As a side effect of all these speeches that are meant to make the man look intelligent and talented in Georgiana’s eyes (albeit completely deservedly so) he also accidentally teaches her a lot about investing money and running projects. She has a good mind and a good memory. And while she initially agrees with him wholeheartedly about everything, as time goes on she realises Sidney is well aware of the increasingly low opinion the new man has of him and still encourages the relationship because it’s good for Georgiana and her father would have approved of the new man. As she is now almost as happy as Otis ever made her and doesn’t have to sneak around at all this makes her want to reevaluate her opinion on Sidney.

Georgiana starts to observe the people around her with more neutral eyes and despite her initial prejudices she finds there are many more good qualities in them than she ever gave credit for. She is in this thoughtful state of mind when she meets Lady Susan again and they connect by talking about Charlotte whose presence in Sanditon they are both missing. Lady Susan brings up many points of view about a whole lot of things that Georgiana hadn’t thought about before.

Towards the end of their promenade they see the new man from a distance and get noticed in turn and he looks very disapproving about Georgiana’s choice of company. When Lady Susan inquires what that was about and hears about the engagement she turns very serious and tells Georgiana she could do a lot better. The man is without a doubt very intelligent and sophisticated but he is also narrow-minded and lacks empathy. Lady Susan warns that the man won’t approve of a connection with Charlotte because there won’t be any obvious path for profit there. Lady Susan even offers to introduce Georgiana to better prospects - perhaps not financially as this one truly is a rising star on that front, but very respectable and well off regardless, and dark of skin if that is her preference.

Georgiana doesn’t want to believe these things of her fiancée but a few careful mentions here and there reveal that Lady Susan was right in her assessment and more polite about it than the reality actually warranted - and that the man is already trying to make sure Georgiana never has anything to do with Lady Susan again. Georgiana isn’t happy about these revelations but realises they hurt her less than she expected - she is not in love with the man and never has been, and the enjoyment she has drawn from their association has been more about flattery and finding genuine interest in business management than actually liking the man - and that the man doesn’t even like her in turn, not as a person.

This realisation makes Georgiana feel momentarily outraged but then she finally recognizes in herself several of the same less-than-admirable features the man has and how his company has made her feel like being petty, self-centered, and judgemental is completely justified and even to be admired rather than those things being actual flaws of character. She realises she really will be better off without him, but that doesn’t mean she can’t put him into good use first. She strings him along for months, subtly learning from his expertise, until she has devised a plausible plan for digging the Parkers out of their financial pitfall without risking her own future significantly.

When Georgiana is done with the man he doesn’t understand at all what happened - the girl is suddenly a completely different person and actually seems to think she has some talent for business when he knows from experience she doesn’t even understand the difference between credit and debit and is generally as stupid as they come. She was very lucky to be suitably attractive and to be in possession of a great inheritance but these delusions of grandeur just will not do.

The man goes back to London in a huff, relieved to be parted from the miserable little town and its revolting inhabitants. He fully expects to hear about Georgiana bankrupting herself in short order, but the news are slow to arrive and when they do she seems to be doing surprisingly well. In fact, Sanditon is really gaining traction and he soon gets to dodge questions about how a man with his impeccable business sense managed to spend such a long time in this up-and-coming place without becoming part of its success.

When the man finally goes back to see what’s going on he immediately recognises several of his own ideas in use, successfully and gainfully implemented by his ex-fiancée, who has now several new suitors but is taking her time in picking any of them. When he actually meets her she simply smirks at him and thanks him for the lessons. He realises he lost a bigger catch than he ever imagined but recognises the game as well and truly lost and doesn’t bother trying to win her back. They both know it’s never going to happen.

Georgiana eventually marries a man who is willing to sign a contract that keeps her financial control to herself - and who happily has a title to offer in addition to being a nice, sociable person. She never will be one of those nor does she even want to, but she has learnt to admire the feature in others.

## Diana Parker

When Diana and Arthur return to London neither of them expects a romance between Diana and the new doctor they had heard about. They are both very impressed with the man even to start with, given his profession, but he is not very impressed with the two new hypochondriacs who start to frequent his practice. He is busy enough with real patients, even if he knows that these kinds of people are an important source of income. But it’s a big city and he has a bigger need for time than money, and these two are rumoured to be related to some big financial crisis somewhere near the coast so their patronage isn’t reliable in any case. However, they are both very respectful and bring with them glowing stories of some health paradise called Sanditon where they would still be if they hadn’t missed home so much.

It takes the doctor a long while to realise that Sanditon is in fact the big financial crisis he heard about, but by then some of his other hypochondriacs have got excited about the concept. The doctor realises immediately what a good opportunity this is for him and starts to mention the place and the Parkers to all of his least favourite patients. They won’t be gone forever but they’ll give him a breather that he sorely needs. He does not take into account how grateful and flattered the Parkers will feel about the gesture, though, nor does his gruff protestation that he only does it to free up some time for himself have any effect on the pair.

Somehow this gesture of mutual benefit makes the Parkers convinced that the doctor is sweet on Diana, who seems completely flustered by the concept. The doctor supposes that part at least is understandable since she has never had great beauty (not that she is ugly by any means!) and is well past her best marrying years. As is he, but he never particularly wanted a wife or tried to acquire one and finds himself now rather flummoxed by the assumption that he is in the middle of a courtship - and that Arthur supports the union wholeheartedly. Neither of them believe him when he denies the assumption, again, and after a while he begins to wonder if he even should try instead of just going along with it.

The Parkers are both extremely silly but they are also good-natured and she is, objectively speaking, a good prospect for the doctor. When it turns out that neither of the older brothers object to the union either he bows to the inevitable and finds himself quite unexpectedly married only a few months later.

Diana doesn’t turn out to be a half-bad wife either, as far as the doctor can tell - she looks up to him and follows his orders for the most part, doesn’t expect to lead an exciting social life, and while neither of them have any experience in the bedroom department he is a medical professional and knows the theory and they figure out the practicalities together. The whole thing turns out to be as much of a hassle as he always expected it to be, and hence never pursued the matter before, but also significantly more enjoyable than taking matters into his own hand, so to speak. She seems quite pleased with it all as well, and eventually bears him two children he never expected to have but adores nevertheless. She is still hypochondriac, of course, but he has a lot of practice in dealing with those sorts of things.

## Arthur Parker

Arthur is overjoyed for his sister’s fortune but finds himself at a bit of a loss now that she is moving out of their childhood home. Suddenly the eternal bachelorship seems a whole lot more lonely concept than it used to. And yet the idea of marrying some girl still feels alien and unattainable.

In an attempt to rectify loneliness Arthur takes to attending an occasional party. In one of those he mentions this conundrum to Mr Crowe, who is drunk and does not care one whit about Arthur’s problems. Mr Crowe suggests with a heavy load of sarcasm that Arthur should perhaps be looking for a man instead. Arthur, not being very good at picking up sarcasm, decides Mr Crowe must be correct even if Arthur has never looked at men that way before. Then he realises he has no idea how things between two men even work and asks Mr Crowe, whose glass is still not empty and who hasn’t thus wandered off yet.

Mr Crowe points out it can’t be any different than taking a girl in the alternate way but Arthur has no idea what that means, never having laid with a girl in any position. Mr Crowe is flabbergasted to learn that and decides it’s his duty as Sidney’s friend to introduce Arthur to a bordell right away. They are already outside when Mr Crowe remembers he doesn’t know any male bordells, and Arthur is now completely convinced he must have those inclinations and won’t consider trying out a girl even in an introductory sense.

Because Mr Crowe already declared he would sort out the situation, and is drunk enough to not be able to come up with better ideas and too stubborn to admit defeat, he decides to bed Arthur himself. Mr Crowe is very surprised when Arthur turns out to enjoy very much being taken, and rightly suspects Arthur wouldn’t know how to fake it, which makes Mr Crowe curious what it actually feels like since none of the girls he did it with never were that clearly into it.

They switch sides under the guise of completing Arthur’s education and Mr Crowe has his mind blown on how something can feel better than drinking and bedding women. He is also sobering up and beginning to realise Sidney might not be grateful for getting his brother introduced to the carnal pleasures of a completely illegal side (and ones punishable by death at that, although such convictions aren’t common) and doing it well enough that he is likely to stick with it.

Mr Crowe spends a good hour drilling it into Arthur’s head that this is not something he can mention in any company, ever, polite or otherwise, but can’t quite get him to believe this means his family too. Mr Crowe is not surprised in the least when a few weeks later he gets a visit from a very irate Sidney, but Sidney in turn is very surprised to find Mr Crowe sober at five in the afternoon and yet looking like he has been awake for a while - and not suffering from a hangover either. Mr Crowe describes the evening in question as transformative and confesses he still hasn’t figured out what to do about any of it.

Sidney is still irate but declares that if Mr Crowe is planning to keep up the sinful dalliance he’d better make sure no one ever figures it out. Sidney realises later that was a stupid request to make - Mr Crowe has always had a very high opinion of his inborn skills that he does not in fact possess and Arthur doesn’t know how to lie to save his life. And as Mr Crowe now feels like he has tacit permission to Arthur they do begin an actual dalliance.

No one whatsoever believes Mr Crowe’s excuse of helping Arthur find a wife, especially since Arthur cheerfully denies wanting a wife, although he does remember to keep from directly admitting anything. But it’s London, and hardly the first badly hidden secret of a scandalous relationship the society has dealt with. Some people cut ties with Mr Crowe but he never cared about the opinion of many of his associates anyway and Arthur has never been good at noticing when someone doesn’t approve of him. Most of those who called him a friend still do after this revelation, as he was never very good at following society norms. This is a new level of outrageous, but he was always outrageous in a cheerful, well-meaning way.

Life goes on and Sanditon experiences an influx of more alternatively inclined people who now expect to find a more accepting welcome there than in many other places. And as Tom is still short on money he finds himself very accepting indeed as far as paying visitors go, although he is a bit worried about how other people are going to react and what is going to happen to Sanditon’s reputation. Lady Susan finds it a great reason to visit again, though, so that puts that worry to rest. Lady Denham raises a fuss but Esther, who is visiting (frequently, at Lady Denham’s insistence), reminds her ladyship that she loves to criticise people and this is going to give her a lot of new targets in addition to bringing her money.

Mr Crowe claims (to his closest friends he is willing to admit the dalliance to) that he stays with Arthur because Sidney would kill him if he were to break Arthur’s heart but secretly Mr Crowe enjoys Arthur’s full body and soft personality and honesty and mistrusts both the flamboyance and the secretiveness in the other alternatively inclined people he meets afterwards. Arthur is convinced Mr Crowe actually likes people just fine but keeps insulting everyone to hide the fact. Mr Crowe really doesn’t but he finds he doesn’t mind Arthur believing so. Mr Crowe would never admit even to himself that he finds it kind of endearing.

## Sidney Parker

With the possibility of marrying Charlotte lost Sidney embraces his responsibilities. He talks up Sanditon to everyone he can find and makes sure his own businesses as well as those of Georgiana’s are in tiptop order, takes over the management of Tom’s loans, and gives Eliza free hands to plan and arrange their upcoming marriage. The only thing he insists on is that they need to be married in Sanditon because that will bring more visibility and visitors to the place. When he meets an association of Eliza’s that he thinks both Georgiana and her father would approve of Sidney invites the man over to Sanditon, introduces them, and then gets out of the way because his presence would only make things worse. If the man cannot win over the girl by his own merits there is certainly nothing Sidney can do to help things along. He doesn’t really like the man all that much but he is a good match to Georgiana and it’s not Sidney’s opinion that matters beyond that. Besides, he has done a lot of looking down on people himself, he doesn’t have much room to throw stones on that front.

It’s pure chance that Sidney and Eliza happen to be in Sanditon when her morning sickness begins two weeks before the wedding, as she doesn’t really like the place and he can do more good for it in London. There are some arrangements that can only be done in person, though, so there they are for two days only, and scheduled to return again only a few days prior the event. No doctor in London would be in familiar enough terms with him to stop him in the street and reassure him that the pregnancy is still in very early stages and with any luck the child will come a bit late so it will still be within plausibility that they waited for the wedding night as expected. Dr. Fuchs doesn’t put much weight on such restrictions but has been in England long enough to know it matters to their social circles.

Given that Sidney has never laid with Eliza and that she is staying in the hotel for the sake of not giving anyone any reason to talk about impropriety, all of this is news to Sidney and he heads to her right away, thoughts swirling in shock and outrage and the grim realisation that he cannot afford to break things off with her regardless. Sanditon needs her money. He demands that she terminates the pregnancy instead, because the one thing he is not willing to compromise on is that his heir is going to be of his own blood. It’s all he has left of his dreams. It never occurs to him that Eliza might find the child more important than Sidney, and when he returns from a long walk on the cliffs to cool himself off he is shocked to be delivered a note that informs him that Eliza has decided to use the wedding to marry Sir Edward instead, of all the people in the world.

Sidney’s first reaction is relief, and then comes horror, because Sanditon really, really does need Eliza’s money and Sir Edward certainly won’t help them out. Sidney rushes in to try to convince her to reconsider but Eliza has made up her mind - she wants to become a Lady and claims the decision has nothing to do with the child that she might still get rid of anyway, but Sidney knows her better than to believe that.

Tom is furious and despondent when he hears the marriage is no longer in the books and only mildly placated by the fact that the event itself will still go on. It helps the cash flow, certainly, but not nearly enough on its own. He even asks Sidney why he couldn’t hold off for two more weeks before confronting Eliza but apologises right after, well aware that that was an unfair thing to expect. Sidney promises he’ll figure out something else and departs to London immediately. He doesn’t know how the news manage to make it there before he does, however, and he finds himself an object of pity and ridicule instead of the respect he has grown accustomed to. He gets absolutely nowhere in his quest until weeks later when the new Lady Eliza Denham returns to town and deigns to announce that she and Sidney parted on good terms. They didn’t, but that reopens some doors to him so he cannot voice any opposing view. He knows she only did it to keep his mouth shut about the child, not that he had any intention to do otherwise. It makes him even more relieved he didn’t have to marry her, but the doors that she opens for him only help so much. 

Sidney is seriously considering having to sell their London house when a word reaches him that Diana and Arthur, of all people, have managed to cook up a miracle and Sanditon is being overrun by people seeking health benefits. It’s enough that Tom is able to pay off the interests to his loans without needing to take on more loan for it. Sidney hasn't had much time to spare for his siblings while he has been in London and he is now baffled to hear that Diana is being courted by some fancy doctor. The doctor doesn’t in fact seem all that fancy when Sidney meets him, but doesn’t appear to be a charlatan either, and as the doctor had a lot to do with the breathing room they got with Sanditon’s finances Sidney can only give his blessing and assure that Tom feels the same. The doctor seems rather bewildered by this goodwill, and Sidney can only assume it draws from the doctor being a working man and his father’s estate having passed to an older brother. But the doctor runs a very successful practice in London and Sidney can hardly suspect him of being after Diana’s money, as everyone in town knows about Sanditon.

Somehow Diana and her doctor manage to get married without much fuss only two months later. Given that the whole affair with Eliza took months upon months to plan that seems nothing short of a miracle to Sidney. He spends a moment wondering how his marriage to Charlotte could have turned out, but shoves the thought out of his head. He hasn’t seen her in nearly a year and still has nothing to offer her. He is using every trick in his book and still only manages to keep Sanditon barely afloat. And if Sanditon falls, he is now going to fall right along with Tom.

The next windfall comes as an even bigger surprise, as it involves all kinds of strangers being very impressed on how accepting Sidney and Tom are of their bent brother, which is something that Sidney is fairly certain Tom didn’t even know about yet and which Sidney himself still hasn’t quite had a chance to process. It’s difficult to believe of Arthur, although Sidney is fairly certain Mr Crowe is to blame for the whole thing even being a thing. Copious amounts of alcohol being involved is a given, even more so now that Lord Babington is busy with his new wife and doesn’t have time to keep an eye on Mr Crowe. One way or another, suddenly Sanditon is the place to go for people involved in less than legal forms of affection. That is not exactly the crowd Sidney would have chosen to fill their pockets but Sanditon cannot afford to turn them away and in combination with the steady flow of health seekers they are actually starting to turn a bit of a profit for a change. Enough that after another month they can actually pay back a small portion of the loans instead of simply paying the constantly accumulating interests.

Sidney isn’t present when Lady Susan floats through Sanditon again with the cream of society at her heels, but Tom’s letters are beginning to sound positively optimistic again. Sidney is a pessimist at heart and doesn’t allow himself to relax yet. They are far from being financially secure, even if Sidney is careful to pay off the loans with the highest margins first. Even a small disaster can easily bring them back to ruin, there is still no safety net and the world of finances is fickle. However, what happens next is so earth-shattering that he could be felled by a feather. Georgiana, his charge Georgiana who hates him and hates Sanditon, breaks things off with her fiancée and starts a series of very clever investments and improvements in Sanditon.

It’s still technically Sidney who is in charge of Georgiana’s money, and he decided long ago he won’t attempt to use a single shilling of it no matter how dire things get, but when he stares at her business proposal he cannot see a single fault in it. She isn’t doing this for charity, she has figured out a way to make profit out of Sanditon without taking on the heavy risks that Tom and now Sidney are labouring under. If Sanditon falls she won’t fall with it, but she might just ensure that Sanditon isn’t going to fall at all. It’s so elegant he never would have figured it out and he certainly cannot refuse it, not as her guardian and not as another person to profit from it. He doesn’t ask her why, he isn’t certain she even knows but he is fairly certain she wouldn’t tell him in either case. He simply signs the papers and says thank you, and she inclines her head in return. It’s probably the most amicable interaction they have had in years.

With Georgiana’s investments things truly turn around. They slowly get rid of the loans that are tied to the destroyed building and, following her suggestions since she seems to have a knack to it, start growing again instead of just staying in a holding pattern. Young Stringer isn’t done yet with the apprenticeship Sidney convinced him to accept, not by far, but the young man is far enough along that Sidney manages to talk the master architect into accepting the plans for rebuilding the terrace as part of the studies - for a price, naturally, but Sidney never expected anything else. They didn’t have money to rebuild right away, only to clear away the ruins, but now they are back in business. They cannot get back all the workmen they had to let go after the cleanup was done, but they get enough, and some of them know of other promising lads who are looking for work.

Now that there is less need to appease debtors Sidney starts spending more time in Sanditon again and is observing the first foundations of the new terrace when Lady Susan arrives again. She looks at him like he is mentally deficient and asks why Charlotte still isn’t there. He stares at the raw timber and wonders how Lady Susan even knows about that, but then points out quietly that it has been nearly two years and he never asked Charlotte to wait for him. Lady Susan nods like he fulfilled her expectations of idiocy and then points out that he knows several people who correspond regularly with the girl and that Willingden isn’t exactly a hotbed of activity and full of dashing suitors just waiting to sweep young girls off their feet. One of the Heywood boys is apparently even living or working or otherwise staying in Sanditon, although Lady Susan doesn’t know which one it is, given that ’brown hair, lanky, looks a bit silly’ covers almost the entirety of the male populace. Then again, asking a young man about the romantic life of his sister probably wouldn’t be very fruitful to start with, so Lady Susan suggests that if her own recommendation isn’t enough Sidney might consider asking Mary’s opinion instead.

Sidney feels extremely self-conscious when he approaches Mary with the question, only to have her huff something about playing dirty. Then she smiles at him and informs him that ever since the wedding that went to sidetracks there have been several bets in place about when he is ready to stop his self-flagellating and to go to pick up his girl. If he does so within a week Lady Susan is going to win. That said, he really shouldn’t wait around, because Charlotte’s own bet was never and there is only so much encouragement and reassuring that can be sent via letters. Sidney leaves at once.

Seeing the Heywood farm is a stark reminder that Charlotte is very much a country girl and not in the sense that goes with having a country mansion. The estate has a comfortable size and Mr Heywood is a very wealthy gentleman by local standards, but he does not keep a house in London nor does he associate much with other gentry despite having a surprisingly well read daughter. He is much more likely to roll up his sleeves and go to work along with his paid workers, which is part of what makes the estate so successful. Mrs Heywood in turn is the eldest daughter of the former clergyman of the local parish and likewise rarely leaves the area or entertains people from outside of it. But they have collected quite a library and keep adding to it, and it turns out that almost every member of the family is an avid reader. They may not follow the latest fashions to a letter but by God they can discuss a variety of literary topics with uncommon insight. Sidney finds his views challenged by a fourteen-year-old and the experience reminds him so much of his early interactions with Charlotte that it hurts.

Charlotte herself isn’t home but Sidney is encouraged to wait rather than go after her, as the girl knows the area well and isn’t predictable in her movements. They send several younger siblings to scout out her usual routes but none of them manage to find her before she is spotted returning on her own two hours later. Sidney goes out to meet her and talk to her in the relative privacy of the gardens. They argue for a long while, but Sidney does manage to apologise for how long it took him to get there and to present the proposition he wanted to give her two years prior. She laughs at him, as his planned speech has very obviously been painstakingly updated several times over the years and the latest tweaks were clearly thought out in a hurry, but accepts his hand.

Sidney would prefer to get married as soon as possible but Charlotte points out that Lady Susan is planning on coming, which means they should make the most out of the event for Sanditon. Willingden certainly would not know what to do with that sort of circus. This delays the proceedings by some months but makes Tom very happy indeed. Two of Charlotte’s younger sisters manage to attract potential suitors during the festivities and while one of these falls through the other one eventually results in another happy marriage. Charlotte takes to inviting her younger sisters of marrying age to stay in Sanditon with her in turns and can eventually credit herself for five successful marriages in total, more if she counts the siblings who find their happiness through the connections of these spouses. And there is one more sister who finds someone to love in Sanditon, even if that someone isn’t socially acceptable. Thanks to Arthur, bad excuses for spending time with a definitely-not-a-special-someone are practically a family tradition already. Mr Crowe in turn detests this newest addition to his social circles with hissy fits and a lot of drama. It’s very entertaining and Sidney wonders how he didn’t realise sooner which way the wind blows for his old friend. Sidney still isn’t convinced about Arthur, but he is happy so Sidney won’t interfere.

**Author's Note:**

> Note: I don't consider marriage and getting children the ultimate end goal of life, but it's an Austen fic, so...


End file.
